I thought for a bit that I might as well give up and let the Platinum Killer get to me, but then I would be leaving Miss Koran alone in regret over losing me. I hated that thought even more.

Elze could have assisted in taking down the Platinum Killer and get a reward from the King himself. She could have then used the reward to tie herself with Sheze. Instead, she chose to use the Platinum Killer to give her status as a victim as well as use him to get rid of me.

I could finally tell that I was truly hated by Elze. I should have known from the fact that in all of her letters, she never once asked me how I was doing and only asked about what was happening in the capital. My health or mental state was of no concern to her.

My existence amounted to just making Elze look better. Had I died like in the novel originally, Elze would not have had to resort to cowardly acts to get rid of me.

I went to see Baron Gysel Kruger and his wife again over tea in their garden. They were the ones to specifically ask to see me again.

"Greetings, Baron Kruger and Baroness Kruger. Thank you for inviting me over for tea," I said with a curtsy.

"The pleasure is ours, Lady Lemaire," Baron Gysel Kruger said.

"About Elze, do you mind if I ask what Elze was like growing up?" I asked. "We recently got into a fight, and it seems like I do not know her anymore."

"Elze was a sweet and lonely child when I took her in. When she met you, she became more open and lively. She would talk about you everyday. I no longer worried about her since she had met a good friend. I feel apologetic towards you two since I was the one who sent Elze away," Baron Gysel Kruger said.

"I was around eight when I was taken in by Baron Gysel," Baroness Kruger began. "I was much too close to Elze's age, so he sent Elze abroad to study. When she came back it had already been nearly thirteen years since then. Even after she came back, she decided to live by herself in one of the homes. It is more convenient for her to move around but I imagine that it must be quite lonely by herself."

"Elze is living alone in the capital?" I asked.

"I certainly would have thought she told you," Baron Gysel Kruger said.

I doubt that they know that Elze is currently living with Sheze at his estate. If she is living there, they have probably also...

"I have not been able to go to her home, if you could tell me where it is, I would like to go apologize to her directly," I said.

"Of course, Lady Lemaire," Baron Gysel Kruger said as he gave me the details.

I left soon afterwards with Miss Koran. We took a short walk through the bustling streets.

Despite there being a serial killer out there, the streets were still busy. Most people thought they were safe because the Platinum Killer only went after young blondes.

I could only admire their efforts to maintain normalcy...

"What will you do with the address?" Miss Koran asked.

To go or not to go?

"I will think about it later," I said as I shoved the address into my dress.

The Platinum Killer is still out there. All I am chasing are my personal desires...

"Lady Lilian, you mentioned before that the fifth murder victim died too early," Miss Koran said. "Has the motive of the Phantom Killer changed?"

"If anything, Elze was suddenly involved with the story when she was not involved from the beginning," I said.

"Do you suppose that the Platinum Killer is someone Lady Elze knows? That is why he spared her?" Miss Koran presumed.

"I admit that Elze has a suspicious past with men, but does the Platinum Killer really have anything to do with her past?" I asked.

"The Platinum Killer is proficient in hiding from people, yet only one witness was found and was not killed. How convenient is that?" Miss Koran asked.

"Right...Maybe we should go to Elze's house then," I suggested.

"Excuse me, did you happen to say Elze Kruger?" a young man with pale blue eyes and flaxen blonde hair asked.

He was our waiter who brought us our tea at a small nearby cafe shop in town.

"May I ask who you are?" I asked.

"I am a friend of Lady Elze," he answered with a smile.

He arbitrarily decided to join us for tea. Something about his oddness reminded me of Elze, so I let him do as he liked.

"Is it alright for you to join us for tea?" I asked him.

"It is alright! I am the manager of the shop and there are not many customers that come in around this time," he said with a bright smile. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Heinrich. I became friends with Lady Elze when we were abroad and continued being friends when we came here."

"Can you tell me what Elze was like abroad?" I asked.

"Beautiful!" Heinrich replied goofily.

Miss Koran looked as if she could kill him with her eyes.

I handed her a tangerine to satiate her anger.

"What was Elze like personality wise?" I asked.

"A cool beauty!" Heinrich replied.

Miss Koran suddenly squeezed the tangerine in her hands to a pulp.

"Do not mind me...This is how I eat tangerines," Miss Koran said coolly.

"A cool beauty...as in a standoff and cold person?" I asked.

"Yes! She was a very cool person. She was capable at a lot of things and was very good at her studies. Everywhere she went, she was very popular with people but was never particularly close to anyone," Heinrich said happily.

That sounds like the opposite of the Elze that I knew who would always throw herself on other people. However, there are sometimes her gaze becomes like that of a stranger...

"If she was so standoffish, how did you come to know Elze?" I asked.

"...I am her fan! After sticking to her for awhile, she could not get rid of me and let me be," Heinrich said.

A cold Elze and a bubbly Elze...which one is the real one?

"Elze must be really loved then...I am a bit jealous," I said with a smile.

She is cute, so it is normal that many men fall for her. Sheze fell for her too.

"No, I am the one who is jealous," Heinrich said with a smile.

I soon noticed that his left arm was heavily bandaged.

"That is a nasty injury...Where did it come from?" I asked.

"Haha...a cat scratched me," Heinrich said with a smile.

Would a cat scratch need that much bandaging?

I soon noticed a pair of bowls with cat food and water in each bowl near the stairs. He must have been raising the cat for some time...

"That must be a difficult cat," I said.

I started feeling ill all of a sudden...an upset stomach and a piercing headache.

"That reminds me...I never got your name," Heinrich said.

The sound of Heinrich's voice was reverberating in my head.

"...It's Lilian," I said.

I found the table getting closer to me as time went on. No, I was the one getting closer to the table...

My head suddenly banged against the table.

Miss Koran immediately sprung into action, but had a strange liquid splashed into her face that made her fall immediately as well.

In the distance, I saw someone's hand sticking out from beneath the counter.

...The man named Heinrich man was never a waiter here.

"Sleep well, Lilian," Heinrich said as he covered my eyes with his hands.